from http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2014/06/on-peters-day-francis-to-bishops-are-we.html
Our Pope said this lovely thing....
Saying that "Women are the most beautiful thing God has made," the Pope reiterated his call in Evangelii Gaudium that the "feminine question" in ecclesial life "must be deepened, otherwise you can't understand the church herself."
While Giansoldati explicitly set aside the question of female clergy, she asked Francis whether a woman would be named as head of a Curial dicastery, a prospect which the pontiff left the door wide open to by replying with a chuckle that "Well [orig: 'Beh'], many times priests [already] end up under the authority of their housekeepers."
Monday, 30 June 2014
Sunday, 29 June 2014
Nonnberg Abbey
St. Rupert made Nonnberg for St. Erentrude. Tomorrow is her feast.
Cool...Maria von Trapp was in the novitiate here.
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5820
Tomorrow Is Big SC Day On Mandate
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SUPREME_COURT_FINAL_DECISIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-06-28-03-32-55
News from SPUC
3 Whitacre Mews, Stannary Street
London, SE11 4AB, United Kingdom Telephone: (020) 7091 7091 Email: information@spuc.org.uk http://www.spuc.org.uk |
| Join the Rally for Life, Belfast, Sat 5 July |
|---|
Join the Rally for Life, Belfast, Sat 5 JulyLiam Gibson of SPUC Northern Ireland writes:"In a little under a week people from all over Ireland will converge on Belfast for the 8th annual Rally for Life. The rally will set-off from Custom House Square at 2pm, 5th July. As always it promises to be an enjoyable event for all the family.Here are videos of the 2012 and 2013 rallies: Comments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk |
Thought for The Day
Lumen Gentium Chapter 5.
May all those who are weighed down with poverty, infirmity and sickness, as well as those who must bear various hardships or who suffer persecution for justice sake-may they all know they are united with the suffering Christ in a special way for the salvation of the world. The Lord called them blessed in His Gospel and they are those whom "the God of all graces, who has called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself, after we have suffered a little while, perfect, strengthen and establish".(226)
May all those who are weighed down with poverty, infirmity and sickness, as well as those who must bear various hardships or who suffer persecution for justice sake-may they all know they are united with the suffering Christ in a special way for the salvation of the world. The Lord called them blessed in His Gospel and they are those whom "the God of all graces, who has called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself, after we have suffered a little while, perfect, strengthen and establish".(226)
Death of A Civilization
It must be hard for a person who has grown up with either
strong feelings or ideologies in a family to find out, as a thinking,
intellectual adult, that many things which were held sacred are absolutely,
positively wrong.
When I taught history, the history of ideas, or humanities,
I taught de Tocqueville. His insights have proved to be correct about the
failures of democracy.
But, I am surrounded by people who refuse to look seriously
at the failures of democracy, instead covering up lies and serious problems
with slogans, usually using words like “true liberalism”, “patriotism” or
“equality” when what is meant is always the lowest common denominator.
I was raised as an elitist, as all Catholics of a certain
age were. We were taught to be leaders, to be intellectuals, to study the
liberal arts, the classics, to learn how to think and not merely how to feel or
have knee-jerk reactions.
In my own family, half were GOP and half Democrats. The
Luxemburg half were the GOPs and the Czech half the Dems. No surprises
there…For years, parents cancelled out the votes of each partner.
But, over all the political differences, until the
generation before mine, stood the loyalty to the Church, to Catholicism. As I
noted in a post earlier on Saturday, I was raised to be a Catholic first and an
American second.
When did this view, so good, so true, change among American
Catholics? One can blame the Kennedys, or go back further to the heresy of
Americanism.
The photos of leading clergymen with the president and other
leading Dems discouraged many Catholics in America
One reason I prefer Europe
is that Europeans are sick of democracy. Now, this sickness could lead either
to life, or to death, as do all illnesses. Europeans no longer believe in one
man, one vote. But, they have committed themselves to be against monarchies, as
real possible governments.
What is left is the fatal decision between anarchy and
tyranny.
In America
Without being “under God”, this ideal is merely romantic
junkfood.
I cannot believe the fact that the American Catholic Church
is so anti-intellectual, like the Protestants, who, from the beginning of the
Revolt, were anti-intellectual (is there anything more anti-rational than sola
fide, sola Scritpura).
What the nuns inculcated in us as leadership skills and the
idea that as Catholics, who had been given beauty, Truth and talents, and that
everyone was not equal, either in gifts or in roles.
The Catholic sense of superiority of culture and
civilization is gone, gone, gone in America
We have lost the cutting edge. Maybe, just maybe, there can
be a revival of rationality, of the sense that the Catholic Church must be a
leader in the public square, in the market place.
But, I know, deep down inside, the corner has been turned,
and we shall be persecuted by the barbarians and by the emotional, by the
leftists who only want power over the sheeple, and by the tyrants.
We shall be persecuted because Catholicism is superior, it
is the only way to civilization.
And those who do not want God or the Truth hate us, as they
hated Christ Himself
Without God as the acknowledge Ruler of America , there is no America America
May Our Lady have mercy on this nation and intercede for
this sad place.
Prose Poem Part One
A poet I knew long ago became a tee-shirt millionaire.
Some of us broke our hearts at the loss of talent and hidden
art.
This old news haunts me, as if I had found a brown letter in
the attic, lamenting lost love.
I wonder where he is now, wondering whether his head is
still full of sublime verse.
Or, his other gifts of mathematics, new formulas, never seen
before except in the Mind of God.
His people send silk-screened shirts across the world from a
nation in the Southern Hemisphere; people whose ancestors drew drew dogs and
symbols on sandstone and ironstone.
Now, these descendents talk of mussels and wine sauce, or
salmon and dill for lunch.
Busy talk-talk, but no poetry comes out of the factory, and
the wife sits with her ladies, now all wearing the animal prints, from the
up-market part of the company, in red and yellows, which some think look good
with Capris and stilettos.
She delights in theses lunches and dances through her dreams
in her new line of muumuus, which look like ‘60s leftovers. Her old
Phantom-Watts rusts in the garage, while she skips across the land in a Spider.
“Our years shall be considered as the spider.” But, mom and dad have forgotten
that.
Mom, too, forgets her only daughter and pretends she does
not have a thirty-something child. And, dad is too busy selling tee-shirts to
notice that his baby does not have a cell phone. She threw hers in the ocean.
The old tribe sighs at the loss of this star, the blood
watching the end of an era. No grandchildren, not lasting heritage, no poetry.
All is dried-up like the red river bed; all perishes of
success and all is blown away in a tropical wind of the material.
The young woman walks the hot trails in boots and shorts,
with few resources, except for pen and notebook, moleskin, her one passion. She
sits in the shade and writes poetry which will be seen by no living person.
She thinks of the veil of the spider’s web as her own
interior life, a delicate thing, reminiscent of the words of a psalm—where did
she hear that or read that one about man’s transitoriness, lives like grass,
like a dream, like things that bloom and wither, dry up and blow away?
In the hot shade, she begins to write, and the black words
flow like water in the desert, cleansing her soul, her mind, her heart. The heritage
springs back to life, like a small rivulet pouring out of the hills,
practically unnoticed.
The heritage is for her salvation, her eternal life, and she
chooses the hard way not sought by her parents, who will never understand her.
The tribe sighs again, whispering across sandy red hills, “We have found the
wordsmith, but she is alone, and she is the last.”
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Unfinished Business
I have looked at the theme of perfection for three years, as
if I were examining a many-faceted prism, or jewel. One reads the great mystics
and theologians, as well as the Doctors of the Church, noticing the
multi-colored spectrums of the words of the saints.
I have shared charts and graphs, photos and paintings, words
which seem to purify the imagination as one writes them.
I have quoted the great ones on memory, understanding, the
will, the imagination, detachment, objectivity, reflection, meditation,
contemplation and the various stages of beginners and proficients.
I have written about Love and shared many poems about love,
as well as giving hints as to how to supernaturalizing the natural and
naturalizing the supernatural.
As I leave Iowa
Unlike most people’s lives, my life has been one of change,
excitement, living in many strange and wonderful places, my soul and mind being
formed by interesting and good people, with whom I have been blessed to meet.
My closest friends are scattered across America and Europe .
They are not gathered in one place, nor sit and look at the sun from the same
angle as I do this evening.
Some, at this moment, are swimming in the land of the Middle Sea. They may be on their way to Mass and the rosary. England ,
or in the deep countryside of mist and flowers in Ireland London
and in Cobh .
Some are in the busy cities of London ,
or Dublin England
Over all these people is the mantle of grace, the grace of
commitment to being part of the remnant and the Church Militant. Over all these
people is the mantle of Mary, Our Mother, who loves each one of us as her own. I have met so many members of the remnant and consider myself blessed, very blessed.
But, as I begin to pack and move, I am saddened at leaving
behind unfinished business, Business which is the evangelization of some of who
nearest and dearest to me and unfinished as I have to leave them yet again
without seeing the conversions for which I pray daily.
So many of us have members in our families who have either left the Church or never have been Christian. Many readers ask me to pray for family members. I do, and for my own.
Did St. Paul
When he went out to the cities of the Empire, did he know
people there first, or did he land as a stranger and have to make friends as he
began communities?
I have a missionary heart, as I have shared on this blog
before. My heart is with the people in Europe ,
who face a darkness which will cover the earth very soon.
They will feel the brunt of this first, but, perhaps, not
the worst. America as a younger and more zealous nation will be harsher, more
violent, more organized in persecution, playing with the darkness of evil power
like an adolescent with a new, fast car, but without the skills to drive it.
My twilight days are coming upon me, but I desire to work in
the dusk. The dim light does not hinder my zealous nature. My angels go before
me preparing a way to new friends, new places.
Continue to pray for me, please, as I move out of this area
of giant farms, stout-hearted, but too proud people, and too much ostentatious
wealth as well as deep poverty. May God continue to bless the people of the Midwest ,
but may He give them new graces to open their eyes to what is around them, but
what they are not seeing--the coming night of Western Civilization.
Being a Catholic
Being a Catholic is not like being anyone. It is a gift
beyond compare. It is an gift of being offered life in the midst of death,
clarity in confusion, and peace in strife.
I have been reading the Fifth Chapter of Isaiah. In this
book, a list of the sins of the nation of Judah
Now, the Israelites did not have the great outpouring of
sanctifying grace which came with the Atonement and Redemption of Christ’s
Death on the Cross. They did, however, have the Law and the Prophets. God kept
His part of the covenant agreement, but the Israelites in Judah
How modern this book seems, when God calls down judgment on
the people for leaving the Law and for despising the “word of the Holy One of
Israel”. These threats of punishment were not mere warnings, but prophesies of
things to come.
In Book Six, Isaiah sees the Glory of God. He is cleansed of
his sin after making a confession, repenting of his own sins. The prophet is
then sent out to share this purification with others. But, God warns him that
the people will not listen. Yet, what follows in Book Seven is the beautiful
promise of the Savior.
“Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel, of course, means “God with us.” The deliverance of men and women from sin
will be this Savior’s victory.
When one sits down and reads these three books, one is
struck with the great mercy and love of God for His people. He not only calls
then to repentance and show then one, the prophet Isaiah, who has been cleansed
and is full of the Spirit of God, but promises complete and final freedom from
sin.
Sin, repentance, confession, grace, purification, eternal
life all shine forth in these books.
The Catholic Church teaches the efficacy of the sacraments,
and these passages are echoes of promises which only find a voice, fulfillment,
in the Catholic Church.
Who are you? Who Is Christ?
We need to be reminded of Who Christ really is. Too often,
the words of Advent and Christmas come and go too quickly, in the midst of
business, and we lose an opportunity for reflection. The passage in Isaiah
Chapter Nine resounds again in our minds when we meditate on the beauty of this
prophecy.
“For to us a son is born, to us a son is given; and the
government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of
his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and
over his kingdom, to establish and uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of
hosts will do this.”
This is not merely a passage for the glories of Heaven, but
for the Kingdom
of God
It is here, it is near us. It is in us. It is only our own
fears and our own sins which keep the beauty of these words from resonating
across the earth.
Do you believe in Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity? Do you believe in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, True God and True Man?
If so, meditate on His Kingdom and ask yourselves how this
can come about, now, here, in these times?
The Cost of Discipleship
Wealth is the problem. I have lived in the Midwest
since November 11th or so and I have wondered how so many Americans
can be asleep, blind, as to the signs of the times. I have wondered at the
pursuit of nonsense, trivia, worthless things and worthless entertainment.
I have wondered at the too-busy lives which cause people to
not reflect or pray. Noise and distractions keep people running about, going
here and there, not stopping to look, to listen to what God is trying to say.
He is saying, “Stop, repent, become perfect.” Few care and
fewer listen.
The problem is wealth. After living in Europe
for three years, 2011, 2012, and 2013, I was shocked when I returned to see the
mad pursuit of things which have no lasting value.
What is necessary is not longer even seen by the vast
majority of Catholics.
I have referred to the movie, Lawrence of Arabia on this blog before and the poignant cry of the
British soldier, yelling at Lawrence
Who are you? Are you an animal seeking pleasure of the
senses only? Are you a materialist, forgetting that you have an immortal soul
which will live forever either in happiness or in grief?
The signs of the times seem obvious to me. Most of my close
friends have adult children living with them either because they are
unemployed, underemployed, or paying back huge university debts.
Most of my son’s generation are not choosing marriage or
children.
Older people spend their days seeking small pleasures not
realizing that these supposedly innocent “perqs” strip the soul of purity and
reduce the body to a mere machine.
The seeking of small pleasures is just as deadly as the
seeking of big ones. Too many people think they have a right to daily deserts,
daily entertainment, daily “down time” without praying, without meditating,
without reading Scripture.
Do not pass up opportunities to become holy. Do not fall
into habits of selfishness. Do not forget to fast, do penance, pray.
Without mortifications, no one can be holy.
Without seeing the signs of the times, one is heading for
perdition and not for glory.
Simply put, most people here have too many things and too
much food; they have too much wealth.
To be a Catholic means doing things on purpose which hurt.
Wealth ruins that view with the darkness of deceit.
Do not miss the signs of the times or the chances to be who
God created you to be.
A Sign of Contradiction or Conformity?
The West in Medieval times was open as never before or after.
Christendom allowed for free travel, as the national boundaries, which came to
demand passports or travel documents did not yet exist.
This community of cultures and proto-nations, of kingdoms, whose
kings and queens acknowledged a King above them, flowed back and forth in
confidence and in relationships.
All this changed after the Protestant Revolt, when national
identity became stronger and caused new rules between nations, making borders
more difficult to transverse and making the Catholic Church just one more
“national interest” among many. The many revolutions undermined the supremacy of
Christendom, and the Church became not only marginalized, but persecuted, in Germany , England ,
France , Italy
For a brief moment of glory, the Church was given some
freedoms under Napoleon, who thought he could control the hierarchy by
restoring them, but again, nationhood trumped Christendom. But, Napoleon
himself began the counting and ordering of peoples, with the census and the
insistence on surnames. He demanded a “global order” in what he saw as
disorder. Bismarck
The imprisonment of Pius IX and the taking away of the
Vatican Papal States in the supposed reunification of Italy
By the 20th Century, the Church no longer had
power in the public square in international affairs, being again sabotaged by
the League of Nations and, finally, the United
Nations.
By the 21st Century, the Church had lost all
power in many European nations and has been confined to the status of immigrant
groupings, not being seen as a world power, despite the media attention of the
popes.
The Church will be more and more marginalized concerning
international affairs, and is already no longer a power in the EU, having many
of Her rights and privileges taken away.
The reason that the Church is now marginalized and facing
persecution in most countries, including the United States America ,
where so many bishops and priests still hold on to the heresy of “Americanism”
and hate so-called Vatican control.
There are too many Catholics, including bishops, who do not
understand that for the Church to be free, She must have respect as an
institution and be above the increasingly immoral and tyrannical laws of the
lands. She must be totally independent.
I could give specifics as to how the Church has lost power
in the past thirty years. I know some of these from experience and from serious
discussions with priests who are willing to discuss how governments are tying
the hands of movements of seminarians or priests, or even families of both.The
world has changed that quickly, in just over a generation, so that the type of
respect given the moral position of the Church has vanished.
No longer do national leaders have to consider the Church.
No longer do nations feel they need to provide Ambassadors to the Vatican
No longer can a bishop exert influence in the secular
society in his diocese.
We shall all suffer because of this huge change, but some
will suffer more than others.
Cardinals, bishops, priests, seminarians, seminaries,
schools which have not capitulated already to state curricula, monasteries of
monks, convents of nuns.will be the first to feel the brunt of this
marginalization and persecution.
Then, the faithful remnant will feel the pressure and
persecution.
I give it less than two years for major changes to the
freedom of movement of Catholics in the West, especially the ordained. I give
it less than two years for the laity to be impacted by a schism, which will
separate the Church instituted by Christ and those national churches, no longer
loyal to Rome but pseudo-Catholic like the
Anglicans in Great Britain
The freedom to come and go which the early missionaries
enjoyed to convert Europe and then the New World
will not be seen again, vanishing in the near future.
In the past, a civilized world did not need passports, or
visas, or rules for immigration. These rules are all about control, controlling
those who go out, and controlling those who come in. And, which organization
sends the most people here and there? Big businesses? No, the Catholic Church.
Ironically, those who want more stringent rules cannot see
that they are preparing the way for a world government, which will totally
control the movement of free peoples. Nations are keeping out the poor, but
also those who are “different”, who seem to be “nonconformists”.
Someone who was trying to hurt me with words today and told me I
never fit in, I was also a nonconformist and pushed the boundaries of what was
acceptable. This conversation arose because someone in my hometown remembered that I dated a
black man in 1969, a Jew in 1979, and (horrors) married an Englishman.
“You were always different”, this person noted, but I was
just being myself.
By many standards, I never fit into the mold of what it
means to be “American”, but that is because early on, I thought (and still do
think), like a Catholic, belonging to
the universal Church, not a national Church. Even as a very young person, when
asked who I was, I would not answer first, “an American”, but “a Catholic”.
Some of us think and act like “citizens of the world”. We have this perspective because we are
Benedictine, Carmelite, Franciscan, the Church Militant. Such a citizen is free from the prejudices and false security of
being just a citizen of a nation which may or may not be “under God”.
There is only one institution which is truly “under God” and
that is the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church. First and foremost, I am a Catholic.
I am moving out of Iowa Minnesota ,
Wisconsin , Illinois ,
parts of the Dakotas (remember, the first and
only complete Marxist city council was in a Dakota town), became so
leftist.
The answer is simple. These areas were primarily settled by
Protestants, who believed in the American Dream first and foremost. There
religion because “Americanism” and conformity. Sola fide, sola Scriptura means one
can believe anything, even heresy. This type of attitude of provincial
religious and political liberalism rubbed off on the Catholics, so that, by the
time I was growing up, most the Catholics voted left in this area, and most
practiced birth control, and supported “women’s rights”. I know Catholics who
will vote for Hillary. They have no idea of her connections to the
international, global groups who want to destroy Catholicism or, at least
emaciate the Church. They do not seem to care. Globalism is more important than
Christendom.
But, that blindness is only one example of the problem. The
real problem is the lack of witness to the Gospel of Christ as preserved in the
Catholic Church.
If the laity were signs of contradiction in the world a
hundred years ago, they are no longer so.
They are signs of conformity.
The remnant is small, indeed.
Friday, 27 June 2014
The False Dark Night
Barbara Brown Taylor is one of the most popular “spiritual”
writers of the day. She was ordained as an Episcopalian priestess, but for
reasons concerning her own popularity, she and the Episcopalians parted company
some time ago.
The reason she is a concern for those seeking peace and
perfection is that she writes about what she calls the Dark Night. However, one
must make a distinction between what I call the highjacking of this very
Catholic mystical term and Taylor
First of all, for those of you who have read the over 600
posts on this blog regarding the way to perfection and union with God, you know
that the first step to holiness is complete orthodoxy. Unorthodoxy keeps people
from the graces of perfection.
Why? To be in union with Christ demands not only a breaking
away from sin, and a purging of sin, but the “putting on the Mind of Christ”.
To think like Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity one must think
like His Own Bride, the Church.
Only in the Teaching and Tradition of the Church do we find
the Mind of God. The sins which need to be purged come from self-love and
self-will. Part of accepting the magnificent teaching of the Church is dying to
self, the ideas one’s has about morality, doctrines, dogmas.
To insist on accepting ideas of others who have departed
from the Tradition and Teaching Magisterium is a sign of rebellion and pride.
Without orthodoxy, one opens one’s heart, soul and mind to
other spiritual forces, namely, demons and listens to the siren song of deceit.
I cannot judge Ms. Taylor, but I can judge her ideas, and a
supposed “dark night” which is the same in Buddhism, or other man-made
“religions”. Objectively, she is
confusing the way of ascetism, a long and honored tradition in all “religions”
with the real Dark Night.
The real Dark Night centers on one’s relationship with
Christ, and not merely the ascetic appeal of death to material things or
distractions.
All humans benefit from denial and dark times, but only in
the true Dark Night can one be discovered by the Bridegroom by Christ.
Who discovers one is the darkness which is not centered on
Christ and His Truth, only found in fullness in the Catholic Church is,
frankly, frightening.
Unless one is orthodox, one is open to the deceit of the
most intelligent of beings, the demons who fake spirituality, who counterfeit
real holiness and real religious experiences.
If on is not orthodox, one is not even on the way to
perfection, as one is following a path which has forked off, away from the
glory of the Catholic Church.
There is no such thing as truth outside of Christ, who told
us “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”
There is no other way to union with God except through
Christ and His Church. Anything else is a false and stunted journey, based on
the ideas of men and not the Mind of Christ.
The Two Brothers of Malta-Ending
In the morning of August 9th, the second bombardment of
Birgu began. The area was already almost destroyed by the cannons but the fort
held out. Birgu was almost invaded but a
fluke of history caused the Turks to withdraw. Again, some strange power was at
work stopping the advancement against Christianity. Birgu and Fort St.
The inhabitants fought well and stopped another attempt at
the end of the month. Vallette sensed that the invaders were losing their will
to win. However, the siege continued. The Turks had, at this point, before the
beginning of September, lost over 9,000 men. 6,100 Maltese had fought against
48,000 men from the East and had not given in. The Turks attempted to take over
the holy city of Mdina
On the vigil of the
Feast of the Birthday of Our Lady, September 7th, the famous Don
Garcia appeared with his men in St.
Paul Malta
Soon the people had food sent to them from Spain, Italy, and Sicily. Sadly, many thousands died, in the fighting or by starvation. There graves, unlike like those of the Knights, lie unmarked, under the rocky soil of Malta.
The Maltese understood to whom they owed this victory,
creating lovely churches in honor of Our Lady. The glory of Valletta
Immanuel finally went back to Gozo to resurrect his father’s
estates, and succeeded in being accepted into the Order, after training as a
Knight, on Christmas Day, 1601. He was remembered always for his kindness and
meekness. Vallette began to build the
most advanced fortified city in the world, but died before seeing it completed.
Frederico received permission from the Grand Master after the Siege to enter
the monastery in Mdina, where he lived to be a very old monk, writing this
memory of the Siege of Malta from the perspective of two brothers-the two
brothers of Malta
There is another story here, but it will have to wait a bit....
The End.
I know a couple
...who have been married for 66 years and still go out several times a week for coffee and a talk.
I am a bit envious....
That is love. When they were married in January of 1948, they had poinsettas on the altar. I love poinsettias.
I am a bit envious....
That is love. When they were married in January of 1948, they had poinsettas on the altar. I love poinsettias.
Breaking News from SPUC
3 Whitacre Mews, Stannary Street
London, SE11 4AB, United Kingdom Telephone: (020) 7091 7091 Email: information@spuc.org.uk http://www.spuc.org.uk |
| BREAKING NEWS UN Human Rights Council passes pro-family resolution |
|---|
BREAKING NEWS UN Human Rights Council passes pro-family resolution
The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council today passed a resolution for the "Protection of the Family" (link), despite opposition from the United States, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The resolution was passed by 26 votes in favour, with 14 votes against the resolution and six abstentions. Supporters of the resolution included the Russian Federation, India and Indonesia.
Earlier the Council rejected an amendment, designed to undermine the resolution, which promoted the false concept of "various forms of the family", as opposed to the natural family based upon marriage between a man and a woman. Patrick Buckley, representing the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)www.spuc.org.uk at Geneva, described the vote as "truly historic". He said: "Rarely has a resolution been so vigorously resisted by anti-life and anti-family forces." The resolution:
Roll-call of votes on the resolution: Yes (26):
|
From SPUC
3 Whitacre Mews, Stannary Street
London, SE11 4AB, United Kingdom Telephone: (020) 7091 7091 Email: information@spuc.org.uk http://www.spuc.org.uk |
| Young pro-lifers walking the South Downs Way for SPUC |
|---|
Young pro-lifers walking the South Downs Way for SPUCComments on this blog? Email them to johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk |
Thursday, 26 June 2014
When I Am Old
I sincerely hope to be full of grace in the way God intended me. I pray daily to live in God's Perfect Will.
This may mean absolutely doing what I do not want to do.
On the other hand, if we love God and are trying to live in His Perfect Will, our prayers and desires reflect His Will for us.
Yes.
I have had prayers answered because I was praying in God's Will. I have seen things blocked in my life, as this was His Will.
But, sometimes, God's Will involves His allowing great suffering, such as persecution and martyrdom.
Think on this. We do not have much time for freedom. It is eluding us, fading away quickly.
Greater good can come out of intense suffering, and therefore Divine Providence allows this.
But, we are always, always in the palm of His Hand.
Some do not experience suffering as intensely as others. This is also His Will.
Do not bring down suffering on yourself unless it is God's Will. That could be simply the sin of pride.
We do not redeem ourselves through suffering but have been redeemed through Christ's sufferings.
Be patient, be peaceful, do not "sweat the small stuff."
And, I hope when I am very old, that I am more full of grace than I am now-and revealing the gifts. May God grant me time...
This may mean absolutely doing what I do not want to do.
On the other hand, if we love God and are trying to live in His Perfect Will, our prayers and desires reflect His Will for us.
Yes.
I have had prayers answered because I was praying in God's Will. I have seen things blocked in my life, as this was His Will.
But, sometimes, God's Will involves His allowing great suffering, such as persecution and martyrdom.
Think on this. We do not have much time for freedom. It is eluding us, fading away quickly.
Greater good can come out of intense suffering, and therefore Divine Providence allows this.
But, we are always, always in the palm of His Hand.
Some do not experience suffering as intensely as others. This is also His Will.
Do not bring down suffering on yourself unless it is God's Will. That could be simply the sin of pride.
We do not redeem ourselves through suffering but have been redeemed through Christ's sufferings.
Be patient, be peaceful, do not "sweat the small stuff."
And, I hope when I am very old, that I am more full of grace than I am now-and revealing the gifts. May God grant me time...
On Confusion Again
Confusion comes from evil, period. I see more and more
confusion among people in the States regarding even common things. We have come
from being a nation of pioneers, and independent workers, who knew how to do
things, to a people who rely on others for so-called truth.
There is a mental laziness among many, which means that
people do not compare news sources, do not find out information for themselves,
do not do research before buying things, accept what governments tell them
about education, and even believe falsified polls.
How did this happen? One reason why people are mentally lazy
is that they do not pray. They do not take time daily to reflect. Their lives
are full of addictions, to food, drink, entertainment.
When I was a teen, we went out once a week on a Friday with
my friends. Now, young people and old people seek entertainment daily. I am
amazed at how much people seek out entertainment. It is mind-numbing.
I have written on the evils of American entertainment
before, but British entertainment is, if anything, worse. More of the capital
sins are shown as ok on British sitcoms than one would hope to see.
But, the confusion is absolutely caused by the bombardment
of the imagination by outside stimuli. Remember,
everything you see and hear and touch goes
into your imagination forever, unless you beg God to cleanse you of memory.
See my other posts on this theme.
Confusion is caused by
satan. He wants our minds to be scrambled by trivia, by nonsense. He does not
want us to think on the last four things, or on our eternal destiny, so he
feeds the imaginations of the world with useless information and entertainment.
I am very concerned, as this phenomenon is more than
material; it is psychological and it is spiritual. When a people no longer
reflect, they become stressed, and when stressed, people make wrong, even evil
decisions.
Righteous Anger
Why is it that no one allows righteous anger? We have an
example of God Himself showing anger several times against the Pharisees and
the Sadducees. So, if a Catholic becomes angry at abortion or contraception or
same-sex marriage, all serious sins which offend God, or becomes angry serious
injustice or the killing of Christians across the world, why is the Catholic
condemned?
Righteous anger comes from purity of heart, and not being
caught up in egotism.
Righteous anger comes from seeing events and people with the
eyes of God.
Too often, people assume all anger is sin. But, it is not.
“Be angry, but sin not.”
Without the fire of righteous anger, the West would still
have slavery. Without the fire of righteous anger, abortion continues to kill
millions of babies a year.
We shall see the wrath of God and understand that we did not
allow God to purify us enough to feel righteous anger.
God forgive us. But, we shall not be spared.
The Two Brothers of Malta Part Eleven
July was coming to a close, with a few odd encounters with
the enemy. The Muslims were encircling the peninsula with cannons for a huge
assault on Birgu and Senglea. In the Fort of St.
Michael, an encounter occurred which changed the lives of several people.
Isabella and Rebecca had been escorted out of the camp near
the harbor to St. Michael’s Fort. Immanuel accompanied them to the fort, before
he returned to the interior to help some of the Maltese, who were beginning to
starve, or who lacked water. Many goats had been stolen and eaten by the
invaders. Little food was left in the catecombs, as so many people had to be
fed. The cutting down of the unripe grain had caused a bread shortage and no
supply ships from Italy or Sicily St. Paul
Immanuel, Rebecca and Isabella were accompanied by the
Bishop of Malta, a Knight of Malta, and by the servants of the Chevalier.
Because Isabella was dying, the Bishop gave her the Last Rites and absolution,
including a special blessing from the Pope. Immanuel stayed by her bedside in a
small villa near the Fort, while the Bishop and the servants went on to the
Fort.
It was the Feast of St. Anne, the Mother of Mary and
Grandmother of Christ. During normal times, there would have been processions
in Mdina and other towns honoring this beloved saint. Now, on this day, which
was overcast and grey, the Catholics could only remember days of festivities.
Rebecca fanned Isabella in the oppressive heat. The clouds
pressed the heat onto the island like a giant’s hands. Some said the heat was a
sign of defeat. Immanuel was thinking of his thirsting, dying people of Malta
The first surprise was the arrival of Frederico. He had
heard that Immanuel and his mother were in the camp area, hidden away for
safety. He had met the Bishop himself. And thanked him for his kindness is
bringing a sad soul to some peace.
“She is not a bad women, Your Excellency. She was young and
weak. Personally, I believe she has suffered more than enough for her sins.”
The Bishop answered quickly, “I am inclined to agree with
you, Frederico. She will have a peaceful death. Her confession was that of a
child.”
Just then, Rebecca burst into the chamber. “Frederico, Your
Excellency, please come back to the villa. Isabella is dying, I am sure.” The
three men walked quickly down a small street to the house, but just as they were
going to enter the dark, cool room, they heard a voice in the street.
“Frederico, may I come in?”
It was Tomas. He had heard that his brother, son, and former
mistress had gathered in this place. He looked strange, almost feverish. “Are
you ill, my brother?” Frederico spoke first.
“I am better than I have been in years. Do you think she
would see me?”
The Bishop walked over to Tomas and whispered in his ear.
Tomas realized the closeness of death. “Then, I have no time. Bishop, listen to
me. Take this.’
Frederico and Immanuel could not see what Tomas handed to
the Bishop, but the Bishop looked for a long time at the object. “This is good,
Tomas, this is very good. Come.”
All walked into the sick room. Rebecca respectfully stood by
a back door. The Bishop approached Isabella who looked pale, very pale.
“My daughter, there is someone here who wants to see you. He
wants to ask your forgiveness, and he wants to ask you something else. Will you
see Tomas?”
Isabella tried to sit up. “Yes, yes, I shall. I will.” She
looked over the Bishop’s shoulder as Tomas stepped forward.
“Will you forgive me, a pig, a stubborn, selfish man,
Isabella? I took your son from you and I see God restored him behind my back.
But, I am content, except for one thing.”
Isabella pressed her thin hand on the brown strong hand of
Tomas. “Please know you were forgiven a long time ago. I have harbored no
hatred or unforgiveness. I, too, was selfish and irresponsible. But, we have a
beautiful son.”
Tomas looked at the worn face, but Isabella’s eyes glowed
with love and joy. “Isabella, will you marry me, now, here?”
She turned to the wall for a moment. “You have taken a long
time to ask this, Tomas. Yes, for the few days I have left, I can be restored
to society, as will your son.”
The Bishop suggested that Tomas first make a general
confession. In the next room, Tomas made the first confession he had made in
almost thirty years before receiving the sacrament of marriage. All left Tomas
and the Bishop alone for about a half-hour. Isabella was given some water. She
glowed with an odd light, but she was breathing normally. Tomas and the Bishop
returned to the sick room.
The Bishop came forward with his prayer book, and a small
package. In it was the ring which had belonged to the noble mother of Tomas and
Frederico. Immanuel choked. The ring was made of four emeralds and four
diamonds in the shape of the Maltese Cross. Tomas knelt by the bed and the
Bishop began the Nuptial Blessing.
A great silence enveloped all who were there. Frederico
noticed tears in his brother’s eyes, but Isabella’s eyes shone with love. They
said their vows quietly, serenely.
Then, the Bishop pronounced them man and left the room,
indicating to Immanuel and Frederico to follow him.
“She does not have much time, perhaps hours, or a day. We
can only pray.”
Immanuel hung his head but Frederico said, “You realize what
a miracle this is, Your Excellency. Something has happened to my brother. This
is a miracle, indeed.”
A few minutes passed and Tomas came out of the room. “She
fell asleep, smiling. I had forgotten the charm of her smile. Rebecca will care
for her and I shall come back after she rests, but I need some care.” He opened his shirt and there on his side was
a huge bandage, with blood beginning to seep through. “Father, we need to get
the surgeon, now.” Immanuel almost shouted, but remembered the woman in the
next room and lowered his voice.
“It is too late, my son. Look, I have blood poisoning and
gangrene. I came here to die and to make you my son in the law and in the eyes
of God. My son, no longer a bastard-the Bishop restores you as well to your
rightful place. Can you forgive me?”
Immanuel led his father to a chair. “This is a day of
forgiveness, Father. Of course. And as I love my mother as I love you, I am
forever grateful that you made her your wife. Father…” But, Immanuel could not
speak, for Tomas slid over and laid his head on the table. He took three or
four deep breaths. “Your Excellency, give me the Last Rites. Please.” Then, the Bishop began the prayers as the
brother and son walked outside as Immanuel was trembling. It was now dark. In a
few moments, the brother and son returned to watch Tomas receive the Body and
Blood of Christ, His Lord, Whom he had avoided for years. Now, God and he were
united again.
Then, after receiving the Eucharist peacefully, he fell into
a fever and then, later, a coma. By midnight, he was dead.
Frederico discovered that his brother had been ambushed by
Turks on the way to St. Michael’s Fort. He had killed two, but had received
this blow from the third. This encounter happened four days ago.
“He may have been poisoned by the swords as well,” remarked
Frederico. Some find mountebanks to buy poisons. He would not have died so
soon. He was a strong man.”
Early the next morning, while the sun rose over the sea,
Isabella passed away. Immanuel asked
permission for them to be buried in Mdina, in the Cathedral. The Bishop
heartily gave permission, and if you visit there today, you will see a white
tomb, embellished with stars, with the dust of Tomas and Isabella resting
together.
The son took a carriage and escorted the two caskets, made
hastily by soldiers, with Frederico and the Bishop back to Mdina.
Rebecca came as well, but did not stay in the house with the
Knights. She had someone else to find. After the twin funeral in the Cathedral,
she sought out Salim.
But, that is another story for another day.
July limped into August and the battering of the last two
forts began. The siege was not over for Immanuel and Frederico.
But, the two old lovers rested away from the din, in a place
for those who die in love and not in hate, who die in forgiveness and not in
rancor, who die in humility and not in pride.
To be continued…
The Two Brothers of Malta Part Ten
A tall, thin man from Ephesus Mt. Sciberras
Salim
knew of the new plans to avoid the Knights guns, and new ships in the Harbour.
He had to decide to either stand up for his faith, finally, risking horrible
torture and death, and defect to the other side, or remain in shame, for fighting
on the wrong side.
His
torture was compounded by the thought of a beautiful servant who lived in a
small house north of the camp. This young girl, had met him by accident, when
Salim was carrying messages from Mustafa to Piyale concerning the movement of
small boats to the area around Senglea. He was on his way back to St. Elmo’s
camp when he had a strange and haunting meeting.
In
the dark of night, Salim had stumbled across a small party, two men and two
women, one of whom was on a horse, wrapped in shawls and obviously unwell. The
other woman, the young one, walked alongside the older woman, while the two
soldiers went ahead a bit. About five hundred feet separated the servants of de la Cassiere from Isabella and Rebecca, when Salim
practically ran into the small horse. Rebecca looked at the young man in the
dark and the servants turned back to hold him, and most likely, kill him. It
was obvious he was a Turk. Rebecca spoke quickly, “I know you. You are the
horse-trainer from Ephesus
Salim felt ashamed to be saved by
a young girl, but he now remembered her. “Rebecca, why are you here?”
The young girl asked the servants
to move out of hearing and they obeyed. The servant of Isabella, once paramour
of Sir Tomas should be obeyed, for now.
“I ran away from a marriage, like
my mistress, and found shelter with a good Knight in Mdina. He was uncle to a
young man, who asked me to take care of his mother, and pays for me to do so.
He is the son of a Knight.”
“Rebecca, you are a Christian as
well? I did not know this. Now, I understand why you left and disappeared.”
“I shall save you this time, but
you must come back to us, you must. Pray, Salim. Be who you are.”
Rebecca walked up to the servants.
They spoke with each other quietly. Then they came back to where Salim sat,
still on his horse.
“If we let you go, false
Christian, think that you owe the Knights a favor. Now, go, and be glad you
know this good woman.”
Salim said nothing but turned his
horse south and made his way back to the camp near St. Elmo’s ruins. Now, he
tossed and turned his tent, unable to sleep. Finally, he knew what he had to
do-be true to himself and his religion.
Just before dawn, Salim slipped
out of his tent and into the horse yard. There, he chose the fastest and wisest
of the Arabians, and managing to keep all of them quiet, he rode out of the
camp and around the harbour. If he was caught, he knew he would suffer the
worst tortures a man could bear. He rode on.
Finally, he found a camp and a
guard. “Take me to Vallette.” The guard looked at the youth and then, Salim
produced an ancient cross made of brass from under his tunic. The guard nodded
and led the young man across the camp to Vallette’s tent. Salim spoke quickly,
“Have mercy on me, a Christian youth, who was conscripted and has no heart to
fight the Knights of Malta. There is coming a two-fold attack on the Senglea.
As many as 100 boats have been brought across the mountain, and there will be
sea fight with the last of the Janissaries. Corsairs have been sent up to Fort
St. Michael’s to attack there from the land. Have mercy and let me help you.”
Vallette stood up and examined
Salim’s face. “Why should I believe you?”
Salim looked at the ground.
“Rebecca, servant of Isabella, mother of Immanuel, believes in me.”
Vallette almost laughed out loud.
So, this young man smote the heart of the young girl. He became serious again,
forcing himself not to smile.
“If I let you stay with us, will
you help me against these Turks?”
Salim looked up, “Yes, I shall do
what I can do.”
Vallette poured water with lemon
for them both. “What can you do?”
“I train horses and I am a horse
master.”
Vallette looked carefully at
Salim. “Then, I send you to Mdina, to train some of our peasants to ride and
care for horses. There are a few there in the city. Now, go, quickly, and take
this.” Vallette gave Salim a sword and knife, as he had left with no weapons.
On the handles were the Maltese Cross, the sign of the Order.
Salim took the weapons, but turned
back and kissed the hands of Vallette. In minutes, he was travelling west to
the holy city.
Vallette turned to his advisors.
“I want a palisade built immediately across the peninsula, at the promontory. I
want word to be sent to St. Angelo’s for
preparation for a sea attack. I know that de Guiral has cannons there. Tell him
to be on the alert.”
It was the middle of July, and the
weeks of the siege had cost the Turks more men than the Suleiman had
anticipated. He had to think of his last attempts to crush Malta
One more time, Our Lady had
changed the game plan of the war. The battle would be won by the Knights, as
the cannons sunk all the boats, except one. And, over 800 of the Turks died in
this attack.
The attack on St. Michael’s failed
as well, as extra reinforcements arrived in time on an invention, a floating
bridge. Salim’s return to himself had won him a place of honor in Malta
To be continued…